The New York Giants should spend more time on the University of Mississippi campus.
Three of the last five championships won by the Giants were delivered by Ole Miss quarterbacks. Charlie Conerly threw a pair of touchdown passes in the 1956 championship game victory over the Chicago Bears, then Eli Manning twice delivered upset Super Bowl victories over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in 2008 and 2012.
The Conerly Award is given annually to the best college player in the state of Mississippi, and Manning won it twice on his way to becoming the school’s all-time leading passer.
Manning’s Dad, Archie, also was an All-America quarterback for Ole Miss and the second overall pick of the 1971 NFL draft by the New Orleans Saints. Perry Lee Dunn and Norris Weese are other Mississippi quarterbacks who started games in the NFL, and Matt Corral projects as a high pick in the 2022 draft. He won the Conerly Award in 2021. If the Giants draft him, there could be more championships in their future.
So Eli Manning gets the nod as the quarterback on the all-time Ole Miss NFL team. He ranks ninth all-time in passing yards and 10th all-time in touchdowns. The Mannings and Conerly combined for eight Pro Bowls.
There are two Hall of Famers on the Ole Miss team, offensive lineman Bruiser Kinard and Gene Hickerson, plus a seven-time Pro Bowler (Patrick Willis) and five-time Pro Bowlers Jimmy Patton, Larry Grantham and Wesley Walls.
Here is the all-time Ole Miss NFL team:
QB—Eli Manning, 4 Pro Bowls, 2-time Super Bowl MVP
HB—Deuce McAllister, 2 Pro Bowls, 6,069 rushing yards, 49 TDs
FB—Buford McGee, Pro Bowl, 9 seasons, 30 touchdowns
WR—Mike Wallace, Pro Bowl, 10 seasons, 57 TDs, 15-yard average
*-WR—A.J. Brown, Pro Bowl, 3 seasons, 2 1,000-yard seasons
TE—Wesley Walls, 5 Pro Bowls, 450 catches, 54 TDs
T—Bruiser Kinard, Hall of Fame
*-T—Laremy Tunsil, Started all 77 games of his career
G—Gene Hickerson, Hall of Fame
G—John Jerry, 9 seasons, 96 starts
C—Chris Spencer, Pro Bowl, 10 seasons, 95 starts
DE—Derrick Burgess, 2 Pro Bowls, 2005 NFL sack leader with 16
DE—Greg Hardy, Pro Bowl, 6 seasons, 15 sacks in 2013
DT—Jim Dunaway, 4 Pro Bowls, 2-time AFL champion
DT—Tim Bowens, 2 Pro Bowls, 22 sacks
OLB—Larry Grantham, 5 Pro Bowls, Super Bowl champion
MLB—Patrick Willis, 7 Pro Bowls, 5-time first team all-pro
OLB—Freddie Joe Nunn, 12 seasons, 130 starts
CB—Barry Wilburn, 1987 NFL interception leader with 9
CB—Ken Lucas, 9 seasons, 25 interceptions
S—Jimmy Patton, 5 Pro Bowls, 52 career interceptions
S—Stevon Moore, 9 seasons, 10 interceptions
K—George Blair, Pro Bowl, 50 career field goals
P—Jim Miller, 8 seasons, 40.1-yard average
KR—Dexter McCluster, Pro Bowl, 3 career PR for TDs
*-Still active
